Golf-ball.



W. TAYLOR.

GOLF BALL.

APPLICATlON FILED FEB. 4. 1916.

Patenfcd Dec 3, 1918.

wILLIA TAYnomor LEICESTER, ENGLAND.

GOLF-BALL.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM TAYLOR, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing in Leicester, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Golf-Balls, of which thefollowing is a. specification.

This invention relates to balls such as are used in the game or golf, and has for its principal'obj e'ct to prolong the. flight ofthe ball by avoiding waste of the balls energy in causing useless eddies in the air and in particular eddies formed'by the marking or roughening on the balls surface. Another. object-is, while avoiding-such eddies to provide a series of suitable inclined surfaces upon 'whichthe'air shall impinge so as to give the ball the requisite tendency to rise above its initial direction and sustain it during flight against the action of gravity.

It consists essentially in an improved form of, the sides of the*- depressi0ns or pron1inences which. constitute themarking, and it will be-described hereinafter with the help of the accompanying diagrammatic drawing,

in which'Figure 1 is a section through a portion of the surface of a ball having a cavity "which is of the invertedbramble type, of

I so

, slon ofsh' llower joined by ashort length pro ected '"spin hasa straighter trajectory marking and part spherical in form with,

2 is a se tion of adeprestype. Fig. 3 is a section of a depression having a profile constituted sharp edges. Fig.

by atrue ogee-curve'of two equal circularv arcs; Fig. 4 is a section of a depression, the profile of, which is, two equal circular' arcs of a straight line; Fig. 5 is a section of a depression containing a projection of a stream-line section or having a profile, of an ogee-curve; Fig. 6 repre-- sents an ogee-curve struck with a radius five and .a half times the height of the curve,

Fig. 7 is an ogee-curve struck witha radius twenty times the heightof the curve.

' Golf balls are marked in order to modify their trajectory in flight. A smooth ball without. spin has a trajectory ap-v proximately parabolic and attains its greatest'length of flight over level ground when forty-five deball with 'suitablyroughened surface projected with back than that of asmooth ball, ora trajectory curving upward at some part and attains a greater length of flight when its initial direction is practically Specification of Letters Patent.

pingement. 7 inverted bramble depressions, as shown 1nv Fig. 1, become Patented nee. 3, 19.1.8.

Application filed February 4, 1916. Serial No. 76,139. 1

horizontal, and this'is known to be due to the backspin imparted to the ball when struck by the sloping face of the club.

I have, found that in marking a golf ball 1 it is desirable to avoid forms of marking which cause eddies in the air, particularly in air passing them tangentially, for such eddies, instead of being as has hitherto been thought-part of a useful air entanglement, generally interfere with it and cause merely a waste of part of the balls energy. I r

. As a ball travels/through the air and displaces continuously the air immediately in front of it, this spreads laterally over the balls surface undersome degree of compres sion depending on the balls velocity, and having passed the equatorial center the flood of air continues to cling to the surface of the I ball and tends to close together in its rear.

In the main therefore, and except as regards relativelysmall areas of the ball fore andaft in the axis of its flight, the flow of air over the balls surface is tangential. And

this is true of those parts of the surface on the top and bottom'of the ball at any moment where differencesof air pressure 00- casion the upward tendency of its trajectory. At these parts the air flood impinging on the in linedsurfaces of the markings is diverted by them and compressed upon them, and this useful action being hereinafter referred to as impingement.

I also find that" eddies are formed in the air flood wherever the contour of the balls surface changes too abruptly in any direction and they Thus the aforementioned deep filled with whirls A which almost entirelv prevent impingement and make such balls behave as smoother balls. With shallower'depressions, as shown in Fig. 2, having either sharp edges C at the balls surface, or with these edges merely blunted, the air flood B entering the depression impinges obliquely on the bottom or slope F thereof, but two eddies are formed, namely one eddy D within the depression where the air flood enters, and one eddy E outside the cavity where the air emerges, and the latter parts the air flood fromthe balls surface so as to disturb itslentrance to the nextcavity if. that be near. Such exterior eddies also appear to'interfere withthe closgenerally interfere with im- 'is twenty times the depth 70, the

regarditlns latter angle as the min mum height "It and the maximum ing together of the fio od in the wake of the ball. 7

'With such cavities made still shallower and their edges less steep, both eddies are diminished in size but so also does the impingement diminish, hence this form of *depresslon can never be made thoroughly effective. ,r i V NOW according to thepresent inventionl markythe surfaceof the ball with depressions or projections or both of such section that they form substantially true" stream lines, their contours stream surfaces, and

their sides inclined impingement surfaces,

and this I dolby making the side of every depression or projection to progress from its baseto, the surface of the ball, in an ogeecurve,whereof the 'depth h (Fig. 3) of the og'ee-curve, i v the base, is neither greater than ten fiftyfifths. nor' less than one-twentieth of such radius of curvature If the depth be greater than the above' stated maximum and possibly also when somewhat less than th s maximum,- an eddy appears to "be formed by the entering air,"

especiallyfat low velocities." If itbe 4 7 less and pessiblyalso'when a trifle greater than the m1nimum,the impingement surfaces will not be suflicien'tly inclined. 7

The best results whichl have hitherto obtamed werewith mark ngs having a depth ture. For the purpose of'securingsufficient im-' but the areaand inclination of theimpinge In Fig. 6,, 'wherelnthc radii.

men-t surfaces; 1", 1" of the two branches constituting the ogee-curve have one of the limiting values above referred to, that is five and a half times the'depth h of the curve, the inclination a ofthe commontangent a, b at the centerof the curve'is 2487: and is: the maximum inclination of the curve or surface, and in Fig- 7 Where the radii '2", r of the-two I curve be formed by two exactly equal circular" curves, this is not anr'essential condition;

measured where the ogee reaches of about one-ninth of the radius of curvi plngement, however, it is not the radius of, the ogee-curve which is thedeciding factor,

surface is about a of the tangent;

mean inclination;

Thektwo parts may difli'er somewhat in curvature" and'Teither may" vary' 'in curvature throughout its length, provided the curvature everywhere lies-within the above stated limits. The two halves of the true ogeecurve may even be slightly separated and connected by a straight line as shown at s in Fig: 4;, or-by a. curve struck witliia:radius greater even-than twenty times the total.

depth of the 0gee-curve. The above modifications are herein included'in the expression ogee curve 1 V Golf ball markings having 5 this improved streamline section may be in other respects of var ous--clesign. F g.5 indlcates for ex ample, the section of wha't may .be regarded I as a prominence formed Within a depression in the balls; surface, both the prominence and the depression "having my improvedstreamline p-contours z-But I prefer to use simple depressions of substantially circularform, and'for' two principal reasons which} are :that they act, in alLdirection's alike; on

theair which; impinges within them, and

that they give to the impingement surfaces a maximum cuplike form,-concavein all di rections like the active side of a-ships sail or the inside of an umbrella, and thereby-they condense the air which strikes them and in crease the-force of fimpingement l. Conversely, "I discard: .u arkingsQfOrmed: exclu sively like the Old hramble marking with impingement surfaces {which-ere convex, in plan aswell as in section and not cuppedanywhere, for these 111113311? mpingement but I may secure sufficiently effective im};

pingement by forming {angulardepressions in which the angles" are less thanatwo right angles',fand such depressions are preferable inthe formof polygonal cavities.

I shall hereafter, for brevity, refer such cup like surfaces and combinations of surfaces as beingFconcaveQinplan. ings of which theelements are neither circu lar nor symmetrical in plan andVwhichgdo not act upon the aircrossingthem l'IljZlll directions alike mustbes'o arranged upon the" ball that the aggregate efi'ectof the elements is substantially equalv in all directions and without common bias or orientation. J

ogee curved side of a depression may, in the case of asimple circular depression,-

meet at its baseand fiowiinto the base of the opposite side of the depression-so that the central; part of the depression will: be part spherical, as in Fig. but-this is notessential, and there may" be and generally, if the depression be other'than circular, foriexample, polygonal, there will be). some'sinalL; area of corresponding form.at;the bottom of the depression between-its sides, and this Mark Y may bea plane or may, without-bad efiect,

be slightly concave. I prefer to use isolated depressions between one and two-tentlisof, 1mbv in d amet f e t ab u 91 9 tenth of the diameter, and to cover therewith about half the surface of the ball.

Having thus described the said invention and the best means I know of carrying the same into practical effect, I claim z- 1. A golf ball whose surface'marking is formed with a number of inclined impingement surfaces, which are in substantial part or wholly concave in plan, which fiow tangentially into the outer surface of the ball and into the bottom of the marking, whose mean inclination is not less than siX-and-ahalf degrees and which form substantially true stream lines and their contours stream surfaces.

2. A golf ball whose surface marking is formed with a number of inclined impingement surfaces which are in substantial part or wholly concave in plan and have an ogeecurved profile, the ogee being so curved that the radius of no part there-of is less than five and a half nor more than twenty times the height of the marking.

3. A golf ball whose surface is formed with a number of inclined impingement surfaces which are in substantial part or wholly concave in plan, have an ogee-curved profile, and a mean inclination not less than six and a half degrees, the ogee being so curved that the radius of no part thereof is less than five and a half times the height of the marking.

half degrees and which are of ogee-curved section such that no partthereof is curved with a radius less than five and a half times the height of the marking.

55. A golf ball, the surface of which is provided with isolated depressions whose sides form inclined impingement surfaces,

7 no normal section of which has a mean in clination of less than 6}-, the sides being formed so as to flow tangentially into the surface of the ball and into the bottoms of the depressions and being of ogee section and such that no part thereof is curved with a radius less than five and a half times the depth of the side.

depth of the side.

7 A golf ball whose surface marking is formed with a number of inclined impingement surfaces, which are in substantial part or wholly concave in plan, which flow tangentially into the outer surface of the ball and into the bottom of the marking, whose mean inclination is not less than siX-and-ahalf degrees and which are of ogee section, the radius of the ogee curve being about nine times the height of the marking.

8. A golf ball whose surface marking is formed with a number of inclined impingement surfaces, which are in substantial part or wholly concave in plan, which flow tangentially into the outer surface of the ball and into the bottom of the marking, whose mean inclination is not less than six-and-ahalf degrees and which are of modified ogeecurved section such that no part thereof is curved with a radius, less than five and a half times the height of the marking.

9. A golf ball whose surface marking is formed with a number of inclined impingement surfaces, which are in substantial part or wholly concave in plan, which flow tangentially into the outer surface of the ball and into the bottom of the marking, whose mean inclination is not less than siX-and-ahalf degrees, and which are of modified ogee- WILLIAM TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

Josnrn WILLARD, H. P. FITCH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Uommissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

